


the weather outside (but you're keeping me warm)

by misskatieleigh



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Sharing a Room, Snowball Fight, Stuck in a blizzard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-02
Updated: 2017-12-02
Packaged: 2019-02-09 11:47:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12887202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misskatieleigh/pseuds/misskatieleigh
Summary: Cassian is driving home for winter break when he gets caught in a blizzard. Too bad the only hotel for miles is all booked up. Luckily, a handsome stranger is willing to share, in exchange for a warm meal.





	the weather outside (but you're keeping me warm)

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Speed Prompt Day 1 of SniperPilot Winter: Stuck in a Blizzard.

“What do you mean all the rooms are booked?”

The man at the reception desk sounds like he’s about ten steps past his breaking point, caught between screaming and crying. Bodhi watches as his shoulders slump, and turns his head to look at the snow falling outside, heavier and heavier by the minute. He looks down at the change in his hand, all he has left for something approximating dinner from the vending machine in the lobby. The hotel’s attached restaurant is doing a steady business, the smell of food cooking filtering into the lobby every time someone walks past the automated doors. 

Bodhi’s stomach grumbles discontentedly, and he takes a hesitant step forward. _Please don’t let this guy be a psychopath._

“Ex-excuse me? Um. This is going to sound very strange, but I have a proposition for you.”

The man turns slowly, and Bodhi’s breath catches in his throat. Possibly he should have gotten a look at the man’s face before starting his offer, but he can’t exactly back out now. Well, he could, but then he’d feel like an asshole, and that’s no way to start the holiday break. 

Steeling his shoulders, Bodhi walks up to the man and offers his hand. “I’m Bodhi. And, uh, I have two beds in my room, but not enough money for dinner. So, if you could, I don’t know, buy me a hamburger or something, I could - well, we could...we could share?”

The man’s hands are chilled, but his grip is firm around Bodhi’s fingers. His face seems fixed in a permanent scowl, but as his gaze drags over Bodhi’s face some sort of miracle occurs and he smiles, a slow sunrise slipping up over the bleakness outside. _Oh fuck._

“Are you being serious?” The accent that accompanies the far too attractive face curls into Bodhi’s chest like a spring coil, twisting his nerves up to eleven and well and truly hooking him. He ducks his head, a blush splashing hotly across his cheeks. “I am actually. Just don’t… don’t murder me in the night or anything, okay?”

The man laughs, a low chuckle spilling out of him. The room feels ten times warmer suddenly and Bodhi wants more than anything to make him laugh again, everything outside the circle of them standing close together falling away. 

“Bodhi.”

“Hm?”

“Are you going to let go of my hand?”

Bodhi looks down to where he is, in fact, still holding the man’s hand. His traitorous thumb is sweeping slowly over the man’s knuckles. He thinks idly, that they complement each other, the warm skin tone and matched callouses. He isn’t the only one holding on though, so he nudges back the panic starting to creep into the back of his mind. Bodhi quirks up the corner of his mouth and looks up into soft brown eyes. 

“Are you going to tell me your name?”

The man laughs again and Bodhi breathes in deeply. 

“It’s Cassian. And I’d be happy to buy you dinner.”

\----

The restaurant is packed, so they squeeze into a couple of stools at the bar. Bodhi orders a burger, hesitating over getting a drink as well until Cassian nudges his ankle with a boot clad foot, tilting his head in a gesture of ‘go ahead’. Cassian unwinds himself from his parka and scarf, draping them both over the back of the barstool before finally collapsing into the seat with a groan. 

“So, how did you get stuck here?” he asks, leaning his elbow on the bar and resting his face against his fist. Bodhi swivels the barstool back and forth a little, an idle movement to keep him from leaning into Cassian’s space. 

“Heading home for the holiday break. I’m up at Imperial College. You?”

Cassian yawns, his jaw cracking at the stretch. He pulls his other hand up belatedly to cover his mouth, like it crept up on him without his knowing. “Sorry,” he says, sheepishly. “Same for me, but coming from Alliance. Do you have much further to drive?”

“Another few hours, depending on how well they clear the roads. Down to Jedha City.”

Cassian nods and leans down to look across the restaurant and out the window toward the snowy parking lot. The streetlights lining the lot reflect off of the falling snow, making it almost impossible to see the cars. Most are shrouded in a blanket of white regardless, like an endless row of sand dunes stretching out into the darkness. Everything feels quiet in Bodhi’s head, the noise of people eating and talking and life in general fading back as he watches Cassian watch the snow. 

The moment is interrupted when the bartender brings their plates of food over, the next few minutes spent easing the ache of emptiness in Bodhi’s stomach. He moans at the taste of it in his mouth, just catching the way Cassian stops short at the sound out of the corner of his eye. Bodhi flushes and stops to wipe his face with a napkin, making sure he swallows before he speaks again. “Sorry, was hungrier than I thought.”

Cassian chews and swallows, taking much smaller polite bites of his food. “It’s fine. Makes me feel better about the exchange at least, knowing you would have starved without me.” He smirks a little at the end, the only indication that he’s joking, but it sets Bodhi off into peals of laughter just the same. “This is certainly better than the Snickers bar I had settled on otherwise.”

Bodhi takes another bite, thinking for a moment before turning back to Cassian. “What about you? Did you have much further to drive?”

Taking a long drink of his beer, Cassian nods slightly. He sets the glass down and wipes away the foam caught in his mustache. “Yeah, I’m going out to Fest, so probably another day of driving.” He sighs, pressing his lips together. “Might be better to head back to school instead. I probably won’t get home in time to do much celebrating anyway.”

Mouth half full of food, Bodhi looks up sharply. “Oh no! Won’t your family miss seeing you for the holiday?” It’s not his holiday, but the likelihood of the school break shifting to accommodate Muslim religious observance is slim to none, so he appreciates the chance to see his family at least. Cassian is shrugging, hiding his lack of response in another sip of his drink. 

“It’s just my uncle anyway. If I let him know I’m not coming he’ll spend the day with some of his old army buddies.” He lets out another laugh, but it sounds more hurt than anything close to joyful. “This whole trip is turning out to be a mistake.”

Bodhi frowns, a line forming between his eyebrows. He wants to pull Cassian into a hug, but that’s not something you do with someone you just met, nevermind how nice it was to hold his hand. He settles for touching Cassian’s arm instead, curling his hand around the sharp point of his elbow. “Hey, you saved me from starving, remember. So it’s not a total wash at least. We’ll just have to check the road reports in the morning and go from there, yeah?”

Bodhi’s mom always said that he was a problem-solver, looking to right the injustices of the world in his own small way. He’s not surprised that he wants to fix all of Cassian’s problems, although the urgency swirling in his gut is a little more insistent than normal. Maybe it was some kind of fate that brought them to this silly hotel in the middle of a snowstorm, each of them needing the other. In any case, he can’t keep his mouth from spilling out the next bit of nonsense. 

“If all else fails, you can just come home with me.”

Cassian’s eyes go wide, and he leans back away from Bodhi almost imperceptibly. _Too far there, Bodhi,_ he reprimands himself internally. Except then Cassian is shaking his head and smiling. “You’re insane, you know that right?

Bodhi grins. “Yeah, probably a little.”

The bartender comes over then, asking if they need anything else and leaving the bill behind when they say no. Cassian pulls out his wallet, putting a couple of twenty’s on the counter. Bodhi adds his change with a flourish, earning him another laugh that only fuels the warmth that’s been simmering under his skin since Cassian first touched his hand. He offers to carry Cassian’s bag, but Cassian brushes him off and they head toward the elevators in the lobby, Cassian slinging an army green duffle over one shoulder. Cassian shifts nervously from foot to foot as they wait for the elevator to come down to the lobby. Bodhi feels compelled to break the silence.

“Listen, I promise I’m actually just a half broke college student and I have no intentions of besmirching your honor, so long as you can promise the same.”

Cassian stops moving and stares at him, the ping of the elevator arriving making his shoulders jump in surprise. They wait as a couple of elderly women come off, smiling at the pair of them as they head toward the bar. Then Cassian walks on, holding the door open for Bodhi with his foot. He waits for Bodhi to press a number, and they rise up a couple of floors in silence before Cassian shakes his head, staring at the elevator doors, and says, “Besmirch?”

Bodhi bites his lip, still grinning, and shrugs. “That’s a completely valid word. I swear.”

Cassian looks at him, adjusting his bag. The door slides open and Bodhi walks out into the hallway, turning left toward his room. From the elevator, Cassian calls out, “Besmirch?!”

\---

Bodhi’s things are already spread across one of the beds, his laptop sitting open where he’d left it when he went in search of vending machine sustenance. Cassian sets his bag on the empty bed, toeing his boots off and tucking them underneath the edge. He unzips the bag to reveal a line of clothes rolled into perfect cylinders, pushing a few to one side as if he’s searching for something in particular.

Bodhi, who has no filter, says, “Were you in the military?”

Cassian is still recovering from the elevator, mouthing ‘besmirch’ to himself at random, but he looks up at the question and shakes his head. “My dad. Picked up a few habits along the way, I guess.” He sighs and pulls out a pair of flannel pants, dark navy and soft in his hands when he unfurls them. “My uncle too. And my cousins. Surprised them all when I wanted to go to college.”

Bodhi nods, sitting down on his own bed and folding his legs together in front of himself. “Yeah, I’m the first in my family to go to college, too. My dad drove a taxi for twenty years though, so I suppose it’s not quite the same. He was happy to not have me follow his footsteps.” 

Cassian nods distractedly, gesturing toward the bathroom. “I’m just going to change, if you don’t mind.”

Bodhi settles back against the pillows and reaches for his laptop. “Sure, of course.” 

The mood has shifted somehow, their easy teasing from earlier disappearing. Bodhi decides that it’s because they’re tired, and the situation is strange regardless. As much as he wants to ask Cassian a million questions, it’s more important to preserve the balance they’ve come to. It only takes a few minutes for Cassian to change, and then Bodhi takes his turn to slip into a pair of pajama bottoms and brush his teeth. The snow is still falling heavily outside the window when they turn off the lights and curl up in their respective beds, a quiet ‘goodnight’ whispered between them. 

\---

Bodhi wakes up in the morning to the bright reflection of sunlight off the snow piled on the windowsill. He rolls to one side with a groan, burying his face in the pillow before giving up and climbing out of bed. In the other bed, Cassian has shoved all of the blankets to the floor, except one corner that he has tucked between his shoulder and his chin. It’s alarmingly adorable and Bodhi has to force himself to look away. At least it’s stopped snowing, though a peek down toward the parking lot shows that no plows have come through yet. 

Bodhi grabs some clothes out of his duffle and pads over toward the bathroom to shower. Cassian snuffles and rolls over onto his other side when Bodhi walks past, dragging the blanket with him to cover one shoulder. Bodhi groans to himself, and drags his hands through his hair. The last thing that he needs is for Cassian to wake up while he’s standing there staring, no matter how cute Cassian looks first thing in the morning. 

By the time he’s done in the shower, hair wrapped up in a towel to keep it from dripping all over his sweater, Cassian is sitting up in bed. His hair is sticking up in five directions, and his jaw cracks as he yawns. Bodhi shoves his hands in his pockets so he doesn’t do anything stupid. 

“I’m going to check the weather, but it doesn’t look like they’ve touched the roads at all.”

Bodhi turns around from messing with the television to find Cassian staring at him, his cheeks tinged pink. He looks down at himself, checking to make sure that he’s managed to put on clothes properly. He has, and they even go together, which is a win in his book, so he looks up and says, “What?”

Cassian lifts one hand toward him, aborting at the last moment and shuffling his hand through his own hair, as if that was his intent all along. He squeaks out, “Towel!”

Bodhi touches the twist wrapped around his head, his lower lip pouting out as he pets the damp material. “Oh. It, uh, keeps my hair from dripping everywhere.”

Cassian makes a distressed noise and backtracks toward his bed, pulling clothes out of his bag and heading toward the bathroom without another word. The shower starts up after a moment and Bodhi turns back toward the television with a shrug, flipping through the channels until he finds the local news. 

\---

They trudge down to the lobby, bundled up in coats and gloves. According to the news, they’re going to have the highways clear within the hour, but local roads could take until the afternoon. The receptionist behind the desk looks like she’s ready to tear her hair out, stuck there with the rest of them well past when her shift should have ended. 

Cassian is parked at the far end of the lot, the last space available when he had arrived the night before, so they head toward Bodhi’s car to start digging it out of the snow. Bodhi uses his arm to push most of the snow away from the top of the drivers side door, swiping over the handle until he finds the keyhole to unlock it. He starts the car and cranks the heat, switching the defroster on before reaching into the back for his scraper with the brush attached. He passes the brush to Cassian when he climbs out, then goes around the back of the car to dig the snow away from the exhaust with his hands. 

They’re about halfway through clearing off the car when the first snowball sails over the roof, missing Bodhi completely. Bodhi pops his head up, looking for Cassian with his mouth scrunched into a playful pout. He gets about half way through shouting, “Hey” when the next snowball flies, this one hitting him in the chin. Snow clings to his neck and starts to melt, dripping down under the collar of his jacket with an icy trickle. 

“Oh, you’re gonna get it now!” he crows, bending over to form a snowball with his hands. When he stands up to throw it at Cassian, he sees a flash of navy blue and a grin, then he’s being tackled into the snowbank. Cassian grabs at his jacket, shoving it out of the way and pushing snow up the back of his sweater at the same time. 

Bodhi shrieks. There’s no other word for it. 

He grabs Cassian’s jacket, shoving at the arm that’s wrapped around his body and trying to roll Cassian onto his back. He has no leverage in the snow though, so it mostly ends up looking like a full body flail. Cassian is cracking up with laughter, his weight pressing Bodhi down into the snow. A swirl of nerves runs through Bodhi, matched with the chill of the snow melting under his shirt. Bodhi pulls an arm free, using his teeth to tug off his gloves before reaching up to touch Cassian’s face. Cassian looks down at him, the laugh dying in his throat as their eyes meet. 

Just as lost as he had been when they’d first touched hands the night before, Bodhi can’t keep his fingers from sliding over Cassian’s face, curling around behind his ear and tugging Cassian closer. Then they’re kissing, like they’ve done this a thousand times, mouths tilting to match up on instinct. Cassian’s tongue darts across his lip once, meeting Bodhi’s on the second pass, his arms wrapping around Bodhi’s back to pull them flush against one another. 

Bodhi drags his mouth away after a minute, opening his eyes to stare up at Cassian. His jeans are soaked from the snow melting beneath him, his back still exposed to the cold air, but at the same time he doesn’t want to move from this spot. Cassian’s eyes have gone very dark, his mouth red and swollen from the kiss. Bodhi licks his lips, mouth curving up at the corners when Cassian’s eyes dart down to follow the path of his tongue. 

“Cassian,” he starts, pausing to swallow. 

“Bodhi,” Cassian responds, voice rough in the space between them. 

“I think you should just come home with me. Instead of driving to your uncle’s house.”

Cassian breathes out a soft laugh. “Yeah? Won’t your parents think it’s strange?”

Bodhi tries to shrug, still pinned down to the snow. Cassian pulls back and helps him sit up, tugging his jacket back into place and smoothing his hair back behind his ears. Bodhi is utterly and overwhelmingly charmed, and he pulls Cassian into another short kiss because he can’t help himself. 

When he pulls away, he lets his face fall into seriousness. “My mom will love you. She’s a sucker for a good romance story.”

Cassian is watching him carefully, twisting the ends of Bodhi’s hair between his fingers. “Romance, huh? Is that what this is?”

Bodhi smiles. “Absolutely. Besides, my honor is already besmirched. You’re stuck with me now.”


End file.
